Baby will only eat crisps

[reallybloodytired]

Really not what I thought would happen when weaning. Six weeks in and he won’t eat anything (he is seven months.)

I have tried purées and non purées, pouches, just putting food in front of him, giving him the spoon (he throws it on the floor!) - he just won’t eat.

But he will eat melty puffs.

Can anyone give me some pointers - I’m really worried.

I couldn't hold my youngest and eat, he hated being contained so high chair was also a no go. I'd sit next to him on the floor or sofa and eat. And he would help himself to what he liked the look of from our plates. Once a week we wou!e have an indoor picnic,
Toast is. Also good as they can gum on it especially when teething.

He also needs to see you eating to see all those skills.

Relax he will start to eat food when he's ready and a part of this involves him exploring food and making a mess. When meal time is over then do the clear up.

First, melty puffs are not the work of the devil. DS has always liked them and he's 19 months now.
Second, try not to stress, he's 7 months. You have loads of time to figure this out. You haven't done anything wrong. Every baby is different and you need to figure out what works for your baby. You've had lots of good advice. My wee one liked to sook bits of toast. He also loves cheese. It wasn't always easy at the start but at 19 months there's not much he won't eat. Doesn't like tomatoes but we can work with that!

Also OP, for the record, my son didn't really start eating proper meals at mealtimes until after he was 1.

We didn't do 3 meals a day and snacks. We did milk and the odd finger food. So don't worry about meal times. That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself.

I would bin the Crisps.
He can only eat what you offer him, and he is very young.
My ds2 had no real interest in food till over 12 months, but he got it eventually.
I would let him smear it on his legs etc. It doesn't matter.
Have you got a high chair?

Thanks for this. Please stop saying stop giving him crisps though. It’s the fact he isn’t eating anything rather than the crisps I’m a bit worried about.

I thought he’d be sampling bits of toast, porridge, scrambled egg, fruit and veg, but he isn’t.

The mess is a massive worry as the house is carpeted throughout. I’ve got an old shower curtain to put under the high chair but since he won’t sit in the high chair that’s a no go.

I didn't even wean two of mine until past 7 months. They just didn't need to be weaned until then. Just keep offering finger food and let him play with it. Eventually it'll go in the correct place and he'll start to enjoy it. Ask your HV for advice/reassurance if you're worried, but honestly, he'll get there. You're doing nothing wrong.

I still use the fruit purée pouches or jars tbh to add a bit to his porridge or plain Greek yogurt as Ds is 1. One lasts a few days in fridge. I haven’t the spare to time to peel and purée mangos.

Blender I use the nutribullet a lot, but mainly to make healthy sauces now. Ie roasted veg and tomato as pasta sauce, freeze in portions. Easy dinner with pasta if dh are eating something not so suitable, or if busy.

I think porridge with a bit of fruit purée we started first. Literally a few small spoons worth in a gu type ramekin so tiny portion. Then gave banana/ toast to play with to try whilst we ate our breakfast. Again still do that now

What's his reaction to the high chair?

You need a high chair with a nice big tray. Or a bumbo with a tray.

Place some newspaper or an old towel/table cloth underneath. Place the high chair where you want to eat.

Place the following 2/3 items on there

Cheerios/fingers of toast
Cucumber sticks/carrot sticks/roasted sweet potatoes batons
Cooked chopped chicken/ripped up bits of ham/some salmon/

Place a VERY small amount of each on the tray. Get yourself some food and eat with him. Be relaxed. Offer the food. He eats great. He doesn’t he doesn’t.

With both my children, I just held them on my lap and let them help themselves to my food until they were eating enough to need their own portions. Maybe try putting the curtain under your chair for mealtimes and trying that. Also, actual outdoor picnics (with wipes and a change of clothes) are good for experimenting with food.

And take advantage of the warm weather, there was times he would just have a nappy on.
The food exploring days are also great photo ops!!

I remember having trays and trays of Annabel Karmen purées In the freezer I'd lovingly prepared - he refused point blank to eat them or jars. The only thing he would eat was the boxed dried baby food you made up with water. I was gutted! Fast forward a few months - he'd eat anything, now a strapping 19 yr old he's the least fussy person in the world ! Id tell myself now not to stress it does come eventually

Honestly, just make a meal you can eat one handed and sit down with him on your lap, or sit down with him on the shower curtain on the floor, and eat it. If he's at all interested, he will start snagging pieces and experimenting with them, and anything on Mummy's plate is waaaaay more interesting. I've eaten many a meal with a baby on my lap - in fact, I once went to coffee and plonked mine on my lap forgetting that we'd started weaning until a big chunk of my mint chocolate brownie had disappeared into his mouth.

Please just try to relax and understand that he doesn't need to eat anything at all right now. If he can reach food, he will eat it when he is ready. Literally all you have to do is make sure that he occasionally has suitable food in reach.

Does he not have a high chair he can sit in? You should then be able to eat when he does which might help? Also is he sick a lot? My DS had undiagnosed reflux and after throwing up solids a few times was very reluctant to try. It was solved with Gaviscon.

Food for fun until they’re one. It’s not quite true, they do start to need nutrition other than milk, but it’s not like they hit six months and suddenly need 3 proper meals a day with multiple courses.

We had similar in terms of being in a tiny flat so nowhere to sit around a table and model eating together, so we did floor picnics – especially good when DP worked from home. All on a shower curtain like you, we’d have our plates of food, and DD would throw some, put some on her head, etc.

Are his poos changing? That’s the real clue as to whether the food is going in. You THINK the scrambled egg is entirely on the ceiling and you’ve got hummus in your hair, but then the solid nappies appear and you realise something is being digested.

You can take the crisps away. He’ll survive on milk, it’s why they continue to have milk alongside solids. Food is about giving the opportunity to eat (or the opportunity to put baked beans inside your nappy ), not about making them eat.

@BuffySummersReportingforSanity has it spot on.

We have bought a massive cover from Amazon that we either use under the high chair or as a picnic blanket.

Do you have a garden? With the nice weather, I normally feed DS outside and saves on cleaning the floor!

You can't worry about mess - it's going to happen, so gently get that out of your head and let your baby explore different food and textures. That's part of weaning. He will make a mess, there's nothing you can do about that.

People are saying stop the crisps for a valid point - it could be why he's not trying anything else, so until you stop them completely, you don't know if that's part of the reason. He's got a taste for them and wants them only, so they need to go.

Hi,

I had this exact same situation....but don't worry. I now have an 18 month old who doesnt stop eating!

But seriously, he might just not be ready. 6 months is the guidance but won't apply to all babies. Under 12 months food is just about exploration and so it doesn't matter if he isn't eating. If he goes mad in the high chair, can you get one of those toys that stick on the table to keep him entertained? Just keep up with what you are doing. I laid off the spoon feeding and started just putting bits of finger food infront of her. Sometimes she paid no attention, others she played with it and sometimes she tried it. Eventually she got the hang of it.

He will get there

I think, at this age, you're overthinking it and overstressing. You can't force him to eat, nor is it your job to. Keep offering and eventually he will get there. Not all babies get into food straight away and that's fine. I wouldn't worry until around the 9 month mark (and even then only if he's really eating nothing).

Also, you may find the book My Child Won't Eat! reassuring. It is helpful and sensible and all about trusting children's self-regulation.

My 1 year old is still like this! 🤦 I think a lot of my stress came from associating solids with better sleep, but turns out that wasn't the case!
I now do easy food he can grab and I can also eat, like mashed potatoes with some cheese or peas for dinner, or broken up fish and carrots.
Breakfast is small pieces of toast and lunch might be bits of cheese or fruit and yoghurt. He still mostly drinks milk and his weight/sleep seem to have no correlation with how much he has eaten?!
I've definitely noticed steps forward and backwards; we've recently had a hospital stay and food is a bit of a battle again, but I have more success (and waste and mess) by letting him just play with it, throw it around and just learn to trust food. Can't remember where I heard this, but babies apparently have an inbuilt aversion to anything new (as prehistoric us may have eaten something poisonous/dangerous) so they need several attempts to look at, play with and familiarise new foods.

I know you say dining table is now unavailable due to working from home, but if it’s long term you need to find alternatives as baby will become toddler and need to eat x3 times every day. My 1 year old makes a right mess eating still!

So either:

1. dining table is cleared at meal times or at least breakfast and dinner so they can eat there

2. tiny desk moved into bedroom instead

3. you find alternative highchair or low seat with tray and use in living room with large towel or wipes or large Mat under instead.

Give up on the high chair. One of line hates it. I got one of those booster seats which strap around a dining chair and has a harness for the kid, and just clipped him into there so he was sitting on a dining chair like everyone else. He liked that.

Remove the crisps. As long as he knows those are available, that's what he will want. Really, no solids is better than crap food he will get addicted to. You are in control so dont feed him shit.

Right now, it isnt about eating. It's about learning. Let him smear the food, play with it, lick it and run away, whatever. He will get there. Avoid the pouches and purees. I never pureed in my life. Baby led weaning all the way.

Let him have the puffs! It will be teaching him how to move things around in his mouth and how to swallow
Don't worry. Keep offering other things as well. Mine loved breadsticks, scrambled eggs, buttery toast, banana, and they loved having a bowl of mashed up food with a spoon to make a mess with.